NBA Playoff preview and live streaming: LA Clippers vs Portland Trail Blazers
The Western Conference first round series between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Portland Trail Blazers has quite an interesting side note to it. While the Trail Blazers have relied heavily on their two dynamic backcourt players in Damian Lillard and recently named Most Improved Player of the Year, C.J. McCollum, the Clippers on the other hand have one of the most dominant frontcourt in the league made up of DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin.
So does this mean the series all goes down to which tandem wins the match up? Will it be height and might or speed and blitz?
The Clippers appeared to be heading for an early entry to the second round after embarrassing the Blazers in Games 1 and 2, but Lillard and company made it a bit more interesting after winning Game 3, 96-88 and trim down LA's lead, 2-1. So far, it has been the traditional case of one team winning at home and then losing on the road. Will Game 4 be different this time?
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One good argument why the Clippers will eventually win this series is the fact that Portland has had troubles winning outside their turf in the regular season. The backcourt duo of Lillard and McCollum depends a lot on the energy they get from their crowd, so winning on the road is something they will have to do in order to get to the next round. The problem is the Clippers have home court advantage, which means they only need to win all their home games up to Game 7 to wrap it up.
If sharpshooter J.J. Redick and power forward Blake Griffin could wake up one morning fully healthy, this might become a totally different story for Game 4. It also will be a critical point in Portland's campaign early in this postseason. If ever the Clips grab a win, it may be the beginning of the end for the Blazers. It's safe to say that Doc Rivers' guys are more than capable of pulling off a win in Portland than the other way around.
But it will also be a different scenario should Lillard come out with guns blazing. He has proven time and time again in the regular season that he can take his team to the next level all on his own – just ask the Golden State Warriors.
